I think this is undoubtedly a very important and timely debate given the food crisis that we're all aware of, and the fact that that's just going to increase in its severity over the months to come. We all know that it's also a medium and long-term challenge because of the impact of climate change, and we really need in Wales to play our part in getting these localised food chains developed so that local, quality food is consumed locally and we support our small farms and our local businesses. I'd just like to mention a couple of examples of that, and also the need to tackle food waste, because we know, I think, that the figure is that 9.5 million tonnes of food was wasted in the UK, 70 per cent of which is estimated to be edible and intended for consumption.

So, I think some local examples in dealing with some of these challenges, for me, are Castle Farm in Bishton in Newport, which is a local small farm that has ideas and energy, and is translating that into action, making a reality of Welsh Government policies and ambitions by delivering them on the ground. They produce local, quality food, they produce free range eggs, they have a small milking herd—too small to be viable if they were just selling the raw product, but, because they enhance that by having milkshake vending machines—one on their local farm shop, on farm, but they will increasingly have others out and about in the local community. And they, for example, have two local outlets, one in the Kingsway shopping centre in Newport, the Castle Farm Shop there, and also one in the recently refurbished Newport market, which reopened just last week, and they have a stall there as well. And as well as adding value to their milk production in terms of those milkshakes, they also produce ice cream on farm as well, and obviously sell that in their outlets. They do local markets, and they're always on the lookout for new possibilities, new sites, where they can sell their quality produce. And they also link with other local farms and sell the produce of those farms as well. So, I think it's a really good example of a local small farm having real ideas and energy and translating that into action.

And I'd like to highlight that refurbished Newport market as well, because it is top quality. It has a food court, it has local businesses there selling their produce, and much food and drink is among that. It has exhibition space, it's going to have high footfall coming through that market, which will be absolutely brilliant for those local purveyors of local food and drink. So, that's a real opportunity, and we need to get the message over to local businesses and farms that they can link with that Newport market to make a reality of those local supply chains.

I'd also like to emphasise the importance of food pantries, which are, for example, sited in Maindee library in Newport, and also in Caldicot, in the town centre, where they are dealing with the challenges of food waste by taking food from supermarkets, food that obviously is edible, and selling it—not selling it, but making it freely available to those in need locally. And those are really good examples, practical examples, of what can be done, and I think these food pantries will increasingly have a role to play right across Wales. So, they have the chilled food in the cabinet, but they also have a range of other food in shopping trolleys there too, made available to local communities. And of course they do much work around that, because when they have people coming to see them in need of those food supplies, they will often have other needs as well, and leads can be made to a variety of other services.

So, I do think that it's really important that all these examples—and we know there are many of them right across Wales, up and down the length and breadth of Wales—are brought to the attention of Senedd Members and Government Ministers and officials, because we can obviously learn from the good practice that's taking place all across Wales and spread that good practice, and make these ambitions and these policies that I think many of us share, to have these virtuous local food supply circles made a reality on the ground and also to tackle food waste. And I'm sure we'll hear many other good local examples here today in this important debate.